COLUMBIA  LIBRARIES  OFFSITE 

HEALTH  SCIENCES  STANDARD 


HX00035149 


Morton 


THE  LIBRARIES 


iHebical  ilitjrarp 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Open  Knowledge  Commons 


http://www.archive.org/details/memorandarelatinOOmort 


MEMORANDA  RELATING  TO  THE  DISCOV- 
ERY OF  SURGICAL  ANESTHESL\,  AND 
DR,    WILLL\M    T,    G.    MORTON^S 
RELATION  TO  THIS  EVENT. 


''  ,«    II  .-..^-^.H?: 


WILLIAM  JAMES  MORTON,  M.D* 

Professor  of  Diseases  of  the  Mind  and  Nervous  System  and  Electro-TIicrapeutics 

in  the  New  York  Post-Graduatc  Medical  School  and  Hospita^  1 0^9  TME  PROPOfH 

OF  THE  UNION  THEOlOGICMr 


Reprinted  from  the  POST-GRADUATE  for  Apriiri905. 


I 


^  c^^^^^^^^^^^"^ 


WILLIAM  THOMAS  GREEN  MORTON,  M.D., 
DISCOVERER    OF   SURGICAL    ANESTHESIA. 

"By  wliom  pain  in  surgery  was  averted  and  annulled. 
Before  whom,  in  all  time,  surgery  was  agony. 
Since  Tvhom  science  has  control  ol  pain." 


Ity  ftdiiiis\ii>it  i<f  tin-  (  rnliiry  <  < 


Inscription  on  Dr.  Morton's  monii-  I 
mcnt  erected  by  citijcnsof  Boston.  | 
m  Mt.  AuUirn  Cemetery.    Mass.       j 


MEMORANDA  RELATING  TO  THE  DISCOV- 
ERY OF  SURGICAL  ANESTHESIA,  AND 
DR.    WILLIAM    T.    G.    MORTON^S 
RELATION  TO  THIS  EVENT. 


WILLIAM  JAMES  MORTON,  M.D. 

Professor  of  Diseases  of  the  Mind  and  Nervous  System  and  Electro-Ttierapeutics 
in  the  New  York  Post-Graduate  Medical  School  and  Hospital. 


Reprinted  from  the  POST-GRADUATE  for  April,  1905. 


Historical  Collection 


3509 


,*> 


i       MEMORANDA  RELATING  TO  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  SUR- 
;  GICAL  ANESTHESIA,  AND  DR.  WILLIAM  T.  G. 

:  MORTON'S  RELATION  TO  THIS  EVENT. 

BY   WILLIAM   JAMES  MORTON,  M.D.,  NEW  YORK. 
I. 

At  the  request  of  many  interested  in  the  subject,  an  attempt 
is  here  made  to  gather  together,  without  bias  and  in  brief  form, 
a  few  facts  relating  to  a  notable  discovery,  for  no  event  in  the 
history  of  medicine  in  this  country  stands  forth  more  conspicu- 
ously than  that  of  the  discovery,  in  1846,  of  the  safe  use  of  ether 
in  surgery.^ 

William  T.  G.  Morton,  M.D.,  medical  student  in  the  Harvard 
Medical  School,  dentist  and  physician,  was  born  in  Charlton, 
Mass.,  August  19,  1819,  and  died,  aged  48,  in  New  York  City, 
July  15,  1868. 

His  early  education  was  received  at  the  Northfield  Academv 
and  at  the  Leicester  Academy  in.  Massachusetts.  His  father 
failed  in  business  and  the  lad  set  out  to  make  his  own  way  in 
the  world.  Alternating,  like  so  many  self-made  and  self-edu- 
cated New  England  young  men,  between  the  counter  and  the 
school  room,  earning  what  was  demanded  for  his  support,  he 
finally  concluded  to  become  a  physician.  As  a  first  step,  in 
1840,  at  the  age  of  21,  he  was  enrolled  as  student  in  the  Balti- 
more College  of  Dental  Surgery.  This  college  was  connected 
with  the  Washington  University  of  Medicine,  which  subse- 
quently became  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of 
Baltimore.     In  1849  Dr.  Morton  received  the  honorary  degree 


1.  See  Trials  of  a  Public  Benefactor,  New  York,  Pudney  &  Russell, 
1859.  See  statements  supported  by  evidence  on  the  claim  of  W.  T.  G. 
Morton,  presented  by  Mr.  Davis  and  referred  to  the  select  committee, 
32d  Congress,  2d  session,  1853,  Washington,  1853.  See  six  congressional 
Reports  referred  to  later  on.  See  Report  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts General  Hospital  and  Dr.  Morton's  Memoir  to  the  French 
Academy,  both  in  Littell's  Living  Age,  March  18,  1848.  See  the  Amer- 
ican Cyclopedia,  New  York,  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  1875.  Article,  "  Mor- 
ton, W.  T.  G.,"  p.  855.  See  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  ninth  edition. 
Article,  "  Anesthesia."  See  the  Century  Illustrated  Monthly  Magazine, 
New  York  City,  August,  1894.  See  AlcClure's  Magazine,  September, 
1896.  See  Harper '5 Magaz^M^,  June,  1899 p., 44.  See  Surgical  Anaesthesia,  ad- 
dresses and  other  papers,  by  Henry  Jacob  Bigelow,  A.M.,  M.D.,  LL.D., 
Boston,  Little,  Brown  &  Co.,  1900. 


of  Doctor  of  Medicine  from  the  Washington  University  above 
alluded  to. 

In  November,  1844,  he  entered  the  Harvard  Medical  School 
in  Boston  in  regular  course  as  a  matriculate  and  attended  lec- 
tures for  two  years,  expecting  soon  to  receive  his  full  degree. 
While  pursuing  his  studies  and  practicing  dentistry  at  the  same 
time  as  a  means  of  earning  the  money  necessary  to  continue 
them,  his  attention  was  drawn  vividly  to  the  pain  attending 
certain  severe  dental  operations.  The  suffering  involved  made 
a  deep  impression  upon  his  mind  and  he  set  about  to  discover 
some  means  to  alleviate  it. 

Experiments  upon  animals  and  upon  himself. — He  read  in 
his  text  books  extensively  upon  the  subject,  and  finally  began 
a  series  of  experiments  upon  insects,  fish,  dogs,  and  lastly  upon 
himself.  Satisfied  that  his  favorite  spaniel,  "  Nig,"  had  not 
been  harmed  by  the  inhalation  of  sulphuric  ether  vapor,  even 
subsequent  to  a  state  of  complete  unconsciousness,  he  deter- 
mined to  inhale  the  ether  himself.  In  his  memoir  to  the  Acad- 
emy of  Arts  and  Sciences,  at  Paris,  presented  by  M.  Arago,  in 
the  autumn  of  1847,  he  thus  describes  the  experiment,  and  his 
next  almost  immediate  experiment  upon  a  patient:* 

Taking  the  tube  and  flask,  I  shut  myself  up  in  my  room,  seated  my- 
self in  the  operating  chair,  and  commenced  inhaling.  I  found  the  ether 
so  strong  that  it  partially  suflEocated  me,  but  produced  no  decided 
effect.  I  then  saturated  my  handkerchief  and  inhaled  it  from  that. 
I  looked  at  my  watch  and  soon  lost  consciousness.  As  I  recovered,  I 
felt  a  numbness  in  my  limbs,  with  a  sensation  like  nightmare,  and  would 
have  given  the  world  for  some  one  to  come  and  arouse  me.  I  thought 
for  a  moment  I  should  die, in  that  state  and  the  world  would  only  pity 
or  ridicule  my  folly.  At  length  I  felt  a  slight  tingling  of  the  blood  in 
the  end  of  my  third  finger,  and  made  an  effort  to  touch  it  with  my  thumb, 
but  without  success.  At  a  second  effort,  I  touched  it,  but  there  seemed 
to  be  no  sensation.  I  gradually  raised  my  arm  and  pinched  my  thigh 
but  I  could  see  that  sensation  was  imperfect.  I  attempted  to  rise  from 
my  chair,  but  fell  back.  Gradually  I  regained  power  over  my  limbs  and 
found  that  I  had  been  insensible  between  seven  and  eight  minutes. 

Experiments  upon  others. — Delighted  with  the  success  of  this  experi- 
ment, I  immediately  announced  the  result  to  the  persons  employed  in 
my  establishment,  and  Avaited  impatiently  for  some  one  upon  whom  1 
could  make  a  fuller  trial.  Toward  evening,  a  man  residing  in  Boston 
came  in,  suflfering  great  pain,  and  wishing  to  have  a  tooth  extracted. 
He  was  afraid  of  the  operation,  and  asked  if  he  could  be  mesmerized 

1.   Littell's  Living  Age,  March  18,  1848. 


I  told  him  I  had  something  better,  and  saturating  my  handkerchief, 
gave  it  to  him  to  inhale.  He  became  unconscious  almost  immediately. 
It  was  dark,  and  Dr.  Hayden  held  the  lamp  while  I  extracted  a  firmly- 
rooted  bicuspid  tooth.  There  was  not  much  alteration  in  the  pulse  and 
no  relaxing  of  the  muscles.  He  recovered  in  a  minute  and  knew  nothing 
of  what  had  been  done  for  him.  He  remained  for  some  time  talking 
about  the  experiment.     This  was  on  the  30th  of  September,  1846. 

The  first  public  notice  of  this  event  appeared  in  the  Boston 
Daily  Journal  of  Oct.  1,  1846,  in  the  following  terms: 

Last  evening,  as  we  were  informed  by  a  gentleman  who  witnessed  the 
operation,  an  ulcerated  tooth  was  extracted  from  the  mouth  of  an  in- 
dividual without  giving  him  the  slightest  pain.  He  was  put  into  a  kind 
of  sleep,  by  inhaling  a  preparation,  the  effects  of  which  lasted  for  about 
three-quarters  of  a  minute,  just  long  enough  to  extract  the  tooth. 

This  publication  induced  the  eminent  surgeon,  Dr.  Henry  J. 
Bigelow,  to  visit  Dr.  Morton's  office,  and  he  was  present  at  a 
large  number  of  successful  inhalations  of  ether  vapor  by  the  new 
method  in  which  teeth  were  extracted  without  pain.  So  im- 
pressed was  he  with  the  magnitude  of  the  event  and  the  per- 
fection of  the  method  of  anesthetic  inhalation  in  Morton's 
hands,  that  he  at  once  warmly  espoused  Morton's  desire  to 
make  public  demonstration  of  his  method.  Largely  through 
his  instrumentality,  permission  was  secured  from  Dr.  John  C. 
Warren,  senior  surgeon  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hos- 
pital, to  make  trial  of  the  new  method,  and  on  Oct.  16,  1846, 
at  this  Hospital,  occurred  the  first  public  demonstration  of 
surgical  anesthesia,  in  the  presence  of  the  surgical  and  medical 
staffs  in  an  amphitheatre  crowded  to  overflowing  with  students 
and  physicians. 

First  public  demonstration  of  Surgical  Anesthesia. — It  was  a 
trying  moment  to  this  medical  student  when  he  determined  to 
exhibit  his  discovery  of  practical  ether  anesthesia  before  his 
classmates,  professors,  and  the  public.  But  so  convinced  was 
he  by  reason  of  his  experience  gained  in  private  practice,  of 
success,  that  he  was  willing  to  face  this  ordeal.  Morton  came 
in  to  the  amphitheatre  late,  delayed  by  waiting  for  the  com- 
pletion of  a  new  inhaler.  Just  a  few  minutes  before,  Dr.  War- 
ren had  remarked,  "  As  Dr.  Morton  has  not  arrived,  I  presume 
he  is  otherwise  engaged,"  apparently  conveying  the  idea  that 
Dr.  Morton  was  not  likely  to  appear.  As  he  was  about  to 
proceed  w4th  his  operation  Morton  entered.     Amidst  that  sea 


of  faces  he  saw  not  one  which  was  sympathizing.  Blank  in- 
creduHty,  or  at  the  best  curiosity  alone,  was  to  be  seen.  Warren 
turning  to  him  remarked,  "  Well,  sir,  your  patient  is  ready." 
Adjusting  his  apparatus  Morton  calmly  administered  the  anes- 
thetic and  turning  to  Dr.  Warren  said,  "  Dr.  Warren,  your 
patient  is  ready."  The  silence  of  the  tomb  reigned  in  the  large 
amphitheatre  while  Dr.  Warren  made  his  first  incision  through 
the  skin  and  dissected  out  a  large  tumor,  while  the  patient  made 
no  sign,  nor  moved  a  muscle  of  his  body.  When  the  operation 
was  completed  Dr.  Warren  turned  to  the  audience  and  said 
slowly  and  emphatically,  "  Gentlemen,  this  is  no  humbug," 
and  Bigelow  remarked,  "  I  have  seen  something  to-day  that  will 
go  around  the  world."  Thus  occurred  the  first  public  demon- 
stration of  surgical  anesthesia.  From  this  crucial  demonstra- 
tion in  October,  1846,  dates  the  immediate  and  universal  adop- 
tion of  the  practice  of  anesthesia  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
The  event  marked  the  advent  of  a  new  epoch  in  history,  namely, 
the  epoch  of  practical  painless  surgery. 

Formal  announcement  of  the  discovery  to  the  medical  world 
was  made  by  Dr.  Bigelow  in  a  paper  read  before  the  Academy 
of  Arts  and  Sciences  on  November  3,  and  before  the  Boston 
Society  of  Medical  Improvement  on  November  9,  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  Nov.  18, 
1846.  This  constituted  the  first  publication  in  the  medical  press 
of  "  Surgical  Anesthesia,"  namely,  of  the  fact  that  operations, 
dental  or  surgical,  could  be  performed  painlessly,  whether  by 
nitrous  oxide  gas,  ether  or  chloroform. 

The  discovery  now  announced  brought  with  it  overwhelming 
labors,  and  Dr.  Morton,  the  second  year  medical  student  within 
a  few  months  of  taking  his  degree,  was  compelled  to  discontinue 
his  studies. 

Reception  of  the  discovery  by  surgeons  and  the  public. — The 
news  of  the  discovery  excited  enthusiasm  on  every  hand.  Dr. 
Warren,  usually  grave  and  dispassionate,  wrote: 

A  new  era  has  opened  on  the  operating  surgeon.  Who  could  have 
imagined  that  drawing  a  knife  over  the  dehcate  skin  of  the  face  might 
produce  a  sensation  of  unmixed  delight?  That  the  contorting  of  anchy- 
losed  joints  should  coexist  with  a  celestial  vision?  If  Ambrose  Par^, 
and  Louis,  and  Desault,  and  Chesselden,  and  Hunter,  and  Cooper,  could 
see  what  our  eyes  daily  witness,  how  would  they  long  to  come  among 
us  and  perform  their  e.xploits  once  more.     And  with  what  fresh  vigor 


does  the  living  sui-geon,  who  is  ready  to  resign  the  scalpel,  grasp  it,  and 
wish  again  to  go  through  his  career  under  the  new  auspices. 

And  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  in  his  introductory  lecture 
delivered  before  the  medical  class  at  the  Harvard  University, 
November  3,  1847,  vividly  said: 

The  knife  is  searching  for  disease — the  pulleys  are  dragging  back 
dislocated  limbs — Nature  herself  is  working  out  the  primal  curse  which 
doomed  the  tenderest  of  her  creatures  to  the  sharpest  of  her  trials,  but 
the  fierce  extremity  of' stiff ering  has  been  steeped  in  the  waters  of  for- 
getfulness,  and  the  deepest  furrow  in  the  knotted  brow  of  agony  has  been 
smoothed  forever. 

Quickly  the  medical  journals  of  the  country  were  teeming 
with  reports  of  surgical  operations  performed  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  new  agency  and  the  newspapers  spread  the  news  far 
and  wide.  As  soon  as  the  steamer  which  left  Boston  after  the 
16th  of  October  had  reached  Liverpool  the  news  rapidly  spread, 
and  testimonials  from  Germany,  Russia,  India  and  lands  even 
more  remote,  were  quickly  added,  bearing  witness  of  the  effi- 
cacy and  safety  of  the  process  and  the  pleasure  with  which  it 
had  been  received.  On  Dec.  21,  the  eminent  surgeon  Liston 
amputated  a  thigh  under  ether  anesthesia,  and  expressed  his 
surprise  and  delight  as  follows: 

Hiirrah!  Rejoice!  Mesmerism  and  its  professors  have  met  with  a 
heavy  blow  and  great  discouragement!  An  American  dentist  has  used 
the  inhalation  of  ether  to  destroy  sensation  in  his  operations,  and  the 
plan  has  succeeded  in  the  hands  of  Warren,  Hayward  and  others,  in 
Boston.  In  six  months  no  operation  will  be  performed  without  this 
previous  preparation.     Rejoice! 

Sir  Benjamin  Brodie,  in  a  letter  to  Dr.  Chalmers  struck  a 
note  of  warning: 

"  I  have  heard  of  this  before,"  he  writes.  "  The  narcotic  properties 
of  inhaled  ether  have  been  long  known  and  I  have  tried  it  on  guinea- 
pigs,  whom  it  first  set  asleep  and  then  killed.  One  question  is,  whether 
it  can  be  used  with  safety." 

"  The  People's  London  Journal  "  of  Jan.  9,  1847,  wrote: 

Good  News  from  America!  Hail,  happy  hour!  We  Have  Con- 
quered Pain.  This  is,  indeed,  a  glorious  victory  to  annovmce;  a  victory 
of  pure  intellect.     And  from  America  comes  the  happy  news. 

The  London  Lancet,  well-known  as  the  organ  of  the  surgical 
and  medical  profession  in  Great  Britain,  said  of  the  discovery: 

The  discovery  of  Dr.  Morton — more  striking  to  the  general  than  to 
the  scientific  mind — will  undoubtedly  be  placed  high  among  the  blessings 


6 

of  htmian  knowledge  and  discovery.  That  its  discoverer  should  be  an 
American  is  a  high  honor  to  oxir  Transatlantic  brethren;  next  to  the 
discovery  of  Franklin,  it  is  the  second  and  greatest  contribution  of  the 
New  World  to  science,  and  deserves,  if  his  discovery  stands  the  test  of 
time,  the  gratitude  and  reward  of  every  civilized  people  and  government 
upon  the  face  of  the  world. 

Needless  to  quote  further  from  the  overwhelming  mass  of 
literature  of  this  time  on  the  subject.  The  simple  fact  stands 
forth  that  pain  in  surgery  had  at  last  been  conquered. 

Origin  of  the  term  Anesthesia. — Although  the  child  had  been 
born  into  the  world,  it  still  remained  to  christen  it,  for  no 
word  in  the  language  of  the  day  expressed  in  specific  terms  either 
the  act  or  the  state  produced  by  rendering  patients  insensible 
to  the  pain  of  surger5^  Accordingly  a  meeting  was  held  at 
the  house  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Gould,  at  which  were  present.  Dr.  Henry 
J.  Bigelow,  Dr.  O.  W.  Holmes,  and  Dr.  Morton.  Dr.  Gould 
read  aloud  a  list  of  names  which  he  had  prepared.  On  hearing 
the  word  "  Letheon  "  Dr.  Morton  exclaimed,  "  That  is  the  name 
the  discovery  shall  be  christened,"  and  others  favored  this 
name.  But  upon  receiving  the  following  letter  from  Dr.  O.  W. 
Holmes,  Dr.  Morton  adopted  the  terms  "  Anesthesia  "  and 
"  Etherization,"  now  so  familiar.  Dr.  Holmes'  letter  reads  as 
follows  : 

Boston,  November  21,  1846. 

My  Dear  Sir:  Everybody  wants  to  have  a  hand  in  a  great  discovery. 
All  I  will  do  is  to  give  you  a  hint  or  two,  as  to  names,  or  the  name,  to  be 
applied  to  the  state  produced  and  the  agent. 

The  state  should,  I  think,  be  called  "  anaesthesia."  This  signifies  in- 
sensibility, more  particularly  (as  used  by  Linnaeus  and  Cullen)  to  objects 
of  touch.  (See  "  Good-Nosology,"  p.  259.)  The  adjective  will  be 
"  anaesthetic." 

Thus  we  might  say  the  state  of  anaesthesia,  or  the  anaesthetic  state  ♦  *  ♦ 
I  would  have  a  name  pretty  soon,  and  consult  some  accomplished  scholar 
such  as  President  Everett,  or  Dr.  Bigelow,  St.,  before  fixing  upon  the 
terms,  which  will  be  repeated  by  the  tongues  of  every  civilized  race  of  man- 
kind.    ♦     ♦     ♦ 

You  could  mention  these  words  which  I  suggest  for  their  considera- 
tion; but  there  may  be  others  more  appropriate  and  agreeable. 
Yours  respectfully, 

O.  W.  Holmes. 
Dr.  Morton. 

In  this  connection,  it  may  not  prove  uninteresting  to  read  a 
letter  written  46  years  later  by  the  same  Dr.  Holmes  to  Mr. 


w 

(- 

H 

c: 

UJ 

a 

00 

00        e 

D 

-^ 

I 

CO 

0 

0. 

< 

C  "m 

w 

O   3 

CO 

hE 

< 

2w 

s 

r~   >-:  i^ 

3: 

QQ 

lO-O'S 

H 

CS 

< 

5 

>* 

2 

0 

I 

0 

.0 

-o 

f- 

03 

o 

<i" 

O 

N 

•6 

Q 
cod 

X 
H 

a: 
w 
ca 
0 

■  C 

IL 

H 

CO  m 

0 

z 

0 

0 

0 

2 
0 

8u 

< 

H 

CO    c 

Qi. 

W 

2^ 

i- 

0 

.  o 

W 

QQ 

^-^'    ' 

2 

^^.^. 

0 

2 

J 

<: 
h 

ro-* 

Q 

E 

-o 

w 

c 

0 

0 

c 

X 
_1 

o 

CO              t- 

a. 

< 
a: 

Q 

(- 

w 

w 

2 

w 

flii 

UJ 

t 

0 

Q 

w 

o 

X 

CN-S       ^ 

H 

Si? 

0 

S2 

.  3 

2 

^^  0 
0 

bi 

>■ 

< 

C< 

2 

(U 

-  x< 

2 

0 

QQ 

H 
0 

—  CN 

2 
Q 

^<^c 


a 

m 

>- 

M 

c 

^ 

C 

m 

Q 

2 

u 

:? 

MjD 

C 

;3 

« 

1. 

.i~ 

a: 

™ 

0 

a-u- 

n] 

W 

- 

u. 

t" 

- 

ra 

3 

< 

2  a: 

Edward  Snell,  who  wrote  an  article  on  Anesthesia  in  the  Century 
Magazine  of  August,  1894: 

Boston,  April  2,  1893. 

My  Dear  Sir:  Few  persons  have  or  had  better  reason  than  myself 
to  assert  the  claim  of  Dr.  Morton  to  the  introduction  of  artificial  anes- 
thesia into  surgical  practice.  The  discovery  was  fornially  introduced 
to  the  scientific  world  in  a  paper  read  before  the  American  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Sciences  by  Dr.  Henry  J.  Bigelow,  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the 
first,  of  American  surgeons. 

On  the  evening  before  the  reading  of  the  paper  containing  the  annovmce- 
ment  of  the  discovery.  Dr.  Bigelow  called  at  my  office  to  recite  this 
paper  to  me.  He  prefaced  it  with  a  few  words  which  could  never  be 
forgotten. 

He  told  me  that  a  great  discovery  had  been  made,  and  its  genuine- 
ness demonstrated  at  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  of  which  he 
was  one  of  the  surgeons.  This  was  the  operation  of  insensibility  to 
pain  during  surgical  operation,  by  the  inhalation  of  a  certain  vapor 
(the  same  afterward  shown  to  be  that  of  sulphuric  ether).  In  a  very 
short  time,  he  said,  this  discovery  will  be  all  over  Europe.  He  had 
taken  a  great  interest  in  the  alleged  discovery,  had  been  present  at  the 
first  capital  operation  performed  under  its  influence,  and  was  from  the 
first  the  adviser  and  supporter  of  Dr.  W.  T.  G.  Morton,  who  had  induced 
the  surgeons  of  the  hospital  to  make  trial  of  the  means  by  which  he 
proposed  to  work  this  new  miracle.  The  discovery  went  all  over  the 
world  like  a  conflagration. 

The  only  question  was  whether  Morton  got  advice  from  Dr.  Chas. 
T.  Jackson,  the  chemist,  which  entitled  that  gentleman  to  share,  greater 
or  less,  in  the  merit  of  the  discovery. 

Later  it  was  questioned  whether  he  did  not  owe  his  first  hint  to  Dr. 
Horace  Wells,  of  Hartford,  which  need  not  be  disputed.  Both  these 
gentlemen  deserve  "  honorable  mention  "  in  connection  Avith  the  dis- 
covery, but  I  have  never  a  moment  hesitated  in  awarding  the  essential 
credit  of  the  great  achievement  to  Dr.  Morton. 

This  priceless  gift  to  humanity  went  forth  from  the  operating  theatre 
of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  and  the  man  to  whom  the  world 
owes  it  is  Dr.  William  Thomas  Green  Morton. 

Experiments  have  been  made  with  other  substances  besides  sulphuric 
ether,  for  the  production  of  anesthesia.  Among  them,  by  far  the  most 
important,  is  chloroform,  the  use  of  which  was  introduced  by  Sir  James 
Y.  Simpson.  For  this  and  for  the  employment  of  anesthetics  in  mid- 
wifery he  should  have  all  due  credit,  but  his  attempt  to  appropriate 
the  glory  of  making  the  great  and  immortal  discovery,  as  revealed  in 
his  contribution  to  the  eighth  edition  of  the  "  Encyclopedia  Britannica," 
is  unworthy  oi  a  man  of  his  highly  respectable  position.  In  the  ninth 
edition  of  the  same  work  his  article  "  Chloroform  "  is  omitted,  and  a 
fair  account  of  the  discovery  is  given  imder  the  title  "  Anesthesia." 

Yours  very  trtilj'-, 

O.  W.  Holmes. 


The  Advent  of  Chloroform. — Surgical  anesthesia  had  been 
already  in  general  practice  in  America,  in  Great  Britain,  and 
on  the  continent  for  over  a  year,  when  in  November,  1847, 
Dr.,  subsequently  Sir,  James  Y.  Simpson,  announced  that 
chloroform,  another  ether,  would  produce  anesthetic  results 
similar  to  sulphuric  ether.  In  sending  to  Dr.  Morton  his  first 
publication  upon  Chloroform  Dr.  Simpson  whites: 

My  Dear  Sir:  I  have  much  pleasure  in  offering  for  your  kind  accept- 
ance the  accompanying  pamphlet.  In  the  Monthly  Journal  of  Medical 
Science  I  have  a  long  article  on  Etherization,  vindicating  your  claims 
over  those  of  Jackson.  Of  course,  the  great  thought  is  that  of  producing 
insensiblity,  and  for  that  the  world  is,  I  think,  indebted  to  you. 
With  very  great  esteem  for  you,  allow  me  to  subscribe  myself. 
Yours  very  faithfully, 

J.  Y.  Simpson. 
Edinbtirgh,  Nov.   19,   1847. 

The  substitution  of  chloroform  for  sulphuric  ether  in  no 
wise  altered  the  fact  that  the  era  of  surgical  anesthesia  began 
with  sulphuric  ether  in  1846.  Simpson  followed  the  path  where 
]\Iorton  had  pointed  out  the  way.  His  use  of  chloroform  greatly 
promoted  the  general  use  of  anesthetics. 

Testimonials  in  Honor  of  Dr.  Morton. — The  Trustees  of  the 
Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  quickly  following  the  public 
demonstration  of  October,  1846,  made  a  report  according  the 
honor  and  credit  of  the  discovery  to  Dr.  Morton,  and  pre- 
sented him  with  a  silver  box  containing  one  thousand  dollars 
"  In  honor  of  the  ether  discovery  of  Sept.  30,  1846."  adding 
the  further  inscription,  "  He  has  become  poor  in  a  cause  which 
has  made  the  world  his  debtor." 

Later  on  Dr.  Morton  received  a  divided  Montyon  prize 
from  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  "  Cross  of  the  Order 
of  Wasa,  Sweden  and  Norway,"  and  the  "  Cross  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Vladimir,  Russia." 

In  the  public  gardens  of  Boston,  Mass.,  a  monument  was 
erected  to  "  commemorate  the  discovery  that  the  inhalation  of 
ether  causes  insensibility  to  pain."  The  inscription  continues, 
"  First  proved  to  the  world  at  the  Massachusetts  General  Hos- 
pital in  Boston,  October,  1846,"  Dr.  Morton's  deed,  though 
not  his  name,  is  thus  honored. 

Yet  another  monument  stands  over  Dr.  Morton's  grave  in 
Mt.   Auburn  Cemetery  near   Boston,   "  erected  by   citizens  of 


9 

Boston,"  bearing  the  following  inscription  written  by  the  late 
Dr.  Jacob  Bigelow: 

WILLIAM  T.  G.  MORTON, 

INVENTOR  AND  REVEALER  OF  ANESTHETIC  INHALATION. 

BEFORE  WHOM,   IN  ALL  TIME,  SURGERY  WAS  AGONY. 

BY  WHOM  PAIN  IN  SURGERY  WAS  AVERTED  AND  ANNULLED. 

SINCE  WHOM  SCIENCE  HAS  CONTROL  OF  PAIN. 

On  the  outside  walls  of  the  new  Public  Library  in  Boston 
are  memorial  tablets  with  about  500  names  of  writers,  artists 
and  scientists.     Here  Boston  inscribed  Dr.  Morton's  name. 

A  still  more  eloquent  expression  of  the  gratitude  of  Massa- 
chusetts is  the  inscription  of  Dr.  Morton's  name  upon  the  base 
of  the  dome  in  the  new  chamber  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives in  the  vState  House  in  Boston,  among  the  selected  53  of 
Massachusetts'  most  famous  citizens — "  Names  selected,"  as 
stated  at  the  time  of  the  event,  "  in  such  a  way  that  they 
shall  either  mark  an  epoch,  or  designate  a  man  who  has  turned 
the  course  of  events."  The  following  names  will  indicate  the 
general  trend  of  the  selection:  Morse,  Morton,  Bell,  Emerson, 
Hawthorne,  Holmes,  Longfellow,  Lowell,  Edwards,  Channing, 
Endicott,  Winthrop,  John  Adams,  J.  Q.  Adams,  Webster, 
Sumner,  Choate,  Everett,  Bowditch  and  others. 

General  Grant  and  Anesthesia. — An  interesting  incident  is 
mentioned  by  John  H.  Brinton,  Professor  of  Surgery  in  the 
Jefferson  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  in  his  valedictory 
address  of  1892: 

In  the  early  summer  of  1864,  during  the  fierce  contest  in  the  Virginia 
wilderness,  I  was  present  ofificially  at  the  headquarters  of  Lieutenant 
General  Grant,  on  whose  staff  I  had  previously  served.  When  in  con- 
versation with  him  an  aide  approached,  and  said  to  him  that  a  stranger, 
a  civilian  doctor,  wished  to  see  him  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an 
ambulance  for  his  personal  use,  in  visiting  the  field  hospitals.  The 
answer  of  the  General  was  prompt  and  decided.  "  The  ambulances 
are  intended  only  for  the  sick  and  wo\anded,  and  under  no  circumstances 
can  be  taken  for  private  use."  This  response  was  carried  as  given  to 
the  waiting  applicant,  a  travel-stained  man  in  brownish  clothes,  whom 
at  the  distance  I  thought  I  recognized.  I  went  to  him,  and  found  that 
he  was  Dr.  W.  T.  G.  Morton.  I  asked  him  to  wait  a  minute,  and  re- 
ttirned  to  the  General.  On  repeating  his  request,  I  received  the  same 
answer.  "  But,  General,"  I  ventured  to  say,  "  if  j^ou  knew  who  that 
man  is,  I  think  you  would  give  him  what  he  asks  for."  "  No,  I  will 
not,"  he  replied.  "  I  will  not  divert  an  ambulance  to-day,  for  anyone; 
they  are  all  required  elsewhere."     "  General,"    I   replied,   "  I   am  stire 


10 

you  will  give  him  the  wagon,  he  has  done  so  much  for  mankind,  so  much 
for  the  soldier;  more  than  any  soldier  or  civilian  has  ever  done  before, 
and  you  will  say  so  when  you  know  his  name."  The  General  took  his 
cigar  from  his  mouth,  looked  curiously  at  the  applicant,  and  asked, 
"  Who  is  he?  "  "  He  is  Dr.  Morton,  the  discoverer  of  ether,"  I  answered. 
The  General  paused  a  moment,  then  said,  "  You  are  right,  doctor,  he 
has  done  more  for  the  soldier  than  any  one  else,  soldier  or  civilian,  for 
he  has  taught  you  all  to  banish  pain.  Let  him  have  the  ambulance 
and  anything  else  he  wants."  Not  only  this,  but  I  have  learned  from  a 
printed  letter  of  Dr.  Morton,  recently  sent  me  by  his  family,  that  the 
hospitalities  of  the  headquarters,  ambulance,  tent,  mess  and  servant 
were  aftenvards  tendered  him  during  his  stay,  by  order  of  the  General 
commanding.  Dr.  Morton  at  this  time  was  present  as  a  volunteer  sur- 
geon, on  the  requisition  of  the  surgeon  general,  to  aid  in  the  admin- 
istration of  anesthetics  to  the  woimded. 

Action  of  the  Government. — Dr.  Morton's  claim  for  remunera- 
tion as  the  true  discoverer  of  surgical  anesthesia  has  been  con- 
ceded in  the  reports  "of  no  less  than  six  committees^  of  Con- 
gress, while  no  report  has  ever  accorded  this  merit  to  his  op- 
ponents. These  reports  are  elaborate  and  carefully  considered 
documents,  founded  upon  a  great  mass  of  testimony,  taken 
as  well  by  Dr.  Morton  to  support  his  claim  as  by  the  several 
contestants  to  destroy  it.  These  committees  reported  bills, 
which  were  buried  and  lost  in  the  mass  of  unfinished  business. 

The  last  of  these  favorable  reports  was  made  in  1863,  by 
Senator,  afterwards  Vice-President,  Henry  Wilson,  then  chair- 
man of  the  Senate  Committee  on  Military  Affairs  and  the 
Militia.  After  an  exhaustive  examination  of  the  claims  of  all 
the  contestants,  he,  as  chairman,  reports,  "  We  are  satisfied 
that  Dr.  Morton  is  the  discoverer.  We  think  him  entitled  to 
liberal  compensation  and  reward."  Senator  Wilson  continues 
(see  Report),  "  Worn  out  and  hopeless  of  the  action  of  Con- 
gress, Dr.  Morton  memorialized  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  The  President  received  the  application,  and  was  about 
to  order  a  just  and  liberal  compensation,  when  the  Secretary 
of  War,  Jefferson  Davis,  induced  him  to  require,  as  a  pre- 
requisite, a  suit  in  one  of  the  Federal  courts,  and  a  judgment  then 

1.  Report  of  Select  Committee,  H.  R.,  28th  Congress,  2d  session. 
Report  of  Naval  Committee,  H.  R.,  32d  Congress,  2d  session. 
Report  of  Military  Committee,  Senate,  32d  Congress,  2d  session. 
Report  of  Naval  Committee,  Senate,  32d  Congress,  2d  session. 
Report  of  Select  Committee,  H.  R.,  32d  Congress,  1st  session. 
See  especially  report  of  Military  Committee,  Senate,  37th  Congress. 
3d  session. 


li 

against  an  army  or  navy  surgeon  for  using  it.  This  was  done, 
and  in  due  time,  but  after  a  change  of  administration,  the  record 
of  judgment  was  presented  to  Howell  Cobb,  then  head  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  who  hesitated  for  a  time,  and  at  last 
refused,  to  carry  out  the  order  of  the  President.  This  memo- 
rial to  the  President  was  backed  by  the  signatures  of  a  majority 
of  the  members  of  each  house  of  Congress."  The  suit  was  sim- 
ply a  friendly  and  technical  action,  taken  at  the  request  of 
the  President.  Dr.  Morton  made  no  further  efforts  to  follow 
up  his  claim  against  the  government,  subsequent  to  Senator 
Wilson's  report  of  1863  and  the  failure  to  pass  the  bill  in  Con- 
gress, 

A  host  of  distinguished  citizens,  after  careful  examination  of 
the  facts,  accorded  their  support  to  Dr.  Morton  in  these  various 
applications  to  Congress  and  on  other  occasions.  We  will 
here  merely  mention  the  names  of  Daniel  Webster,  Rufus 
Choate,  Horace  Mann,  Charles  Sumner,  Marcus  Morton,  Louis 
Agassiz,  R.  H.  Dana,  Edward  Everett,  J.  M.  Carlisle,  Sam 
Houston,  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse,  James  Russell  Lowell,  Henry 
W.  Longfellow,  Alexander  Stephens,  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes, 
and  among  physicians  practically  all  of  the  greatest  in  the 
country,  including  instances  such  as  the  Bigelows  and  the 
Warrens  in  Boston,  and  also  James  Jackson,  John  Ware,  Henry 
I.  Bowditch,  George  C.  Shattuck,  Charles  G.  Putnam,  Francis 
Minot,  J.  J.  White;  in  New  York,  Willard  Parker,  Valentine 
Mott,  John  W.  Francis,  John  Watson,  James  R.  Wood,  Gurdon 
Buck,  J.  M.  Camochan,  W.  H.  Van  Buren,  T.  Gaillard  Thomas, 
G.  L.  Elliott,  Thos.  M.  Markoe,  Fordyce  Barker,  John  T.  Met- 
calfe, Stephen  Smith,  Lewis  A.  Sayre,  Edward  Delafield,  E.  R. 
Peaselee,  Horace  Green,  etc. 

The  Semi-Centennial  of  Anesthesia,  Oct.  16,  1896. — The  dis- 
covery of  surgical  anesthesia  has  been  celebrated  on  many 
occasions  but  upon  none  more  notably  than  upon  that  of  the 
"  Commemoration  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the  first 
public  demonstration  of  Surgical  Anesthesia  at  the  Massachusetts 
General  Hospital  Boston,  Oct.  16,  1846." 

On  this  occasion  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  consisted  of : 

J.  Collins  Warren,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Chairman;  James  C.  White,  M.D., 
William  L.  Richardson,  M.D.,  Henry  H.  A.  Beach,  M.D.,  Frederick  C. 
Shattuck,  M.D.,  William  Sturgis  Bigelow,  M.D. 


12 

And  the  "  honorary  committee  "•  included  the  names  of: 

John  Shaw  BilHngs,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  New  York,  Chairman;  Charles  W. 
Eliot,  LL.D.,  President  of  Harvard  University;  Henry  P.  Walcott,  M.D., 
President  Mass.  Medical  Society;  Morrill  Wyman,  M.D.,  LL.D.  Cambridge 
Cladius  Henry  Mastin,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Mobile;  Robert  F.  Weir,  M.D.,  New 
York;  Htmter  McQiiire,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Richmond;  Phineas  Sanborn  Con- 
ner, M.D.,  LL.D.,  Cincinnati;  William  Williams  Keen,  A.M.,  M.D.,  LL.D., 
Philadelphia;  Horatio  C.  Wood,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Philadelphia;  William 
Pepper,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  Philadelphia;  Henry  H.  Mudd,  M.D.,  St.  Louis; 
Louis  McLane  Tififany,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Baltimore;  Nicholas  Senn,  M.D., 
Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Chicago;  Charles  McBuniey,  M.D.,. New  York;  Nathaniel 
Pendleton  Dandridge,  M.D.,  Cincinnati;  Francis  John  Shepherd,  M.D., 
Montreal;  J.  William  White,  M.D.,  Ph.D.,  Philadelphia;  William  Osier, 
M.D.,  Baltimore;  William  J.  Morton,  M.D.,  New  York;  Frederic  Shepard 
Dennis,  M.D.,  New  York;  William  S.  Halsted,  M.D.,  Baltimore;  Roswell 
Park,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Buffalo;  Levi  C.  Lane,  M.D.,  LLD.,  San  Francisco. 

Addresses  and  papers  were  read  by: 

Chas.  H.  Dalton,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital; 
Robert  T.  Davis,  M.D.,  of  Fall  River;  John  Ashhurst,  Jr.,  M.D.,  LL.D., 
of  Philadelphia;  David  W.  Cheever,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Boston;  John  P. 
Reynolds,  M.D.,  of  Boston;  W.  H.  Welch,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  of  Baltimore; 
Chas.  McBumey,  M.D.,  of  New  York;  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  M.D.,  LL.D.,  of 
Philadelphia. 

II. 

"Anesthesia"  Prior  to  Morton's  Demonstration  of  1846. 

From  the  beginning  of  historical  time  up  to  the  advent  of 
practical  ether  anesthesia  in  1846,  it  had  been  a  dream  and  a 
hope  of  surgeons  to  find  some  way  of  performing  operations 
without  pain  to  the  patient.  Attempts  to  accomplish  this 
object  had  been  frequently  made  from  century  to  century  both 
with  potions  and  with  the  inhalation  of  gases. 

In  the  first  and  second  centuries,  Pliny,  Dioscorides  and 
Apuleius  extol  the  efficacy  of  Mandragora.  The  latter  writes, 
"  If  anyone  is  to  have  a  member  mutilated,  burned  or  sawed, 
let  him  drink  half  an  ounce  with  wine,  and  let  him  sleep  until 
the  member  is  cut  away,  without  pain  or  sensation."  Similar 
references  are  numerous  but  they  have  mainly  an  antiquarian 
interest.  But  during  the  period  of  the  half  century  prior  to 
1846,  efforts  at  intentional  anesthesia  took  more  and  more  a 
definite  shape,  leading  step  by  step  to  the  final  culmination  of  a 
success,  patent  to  all  the  world. 

Nysten,  in  his  "  Dictionary  of  Medical  Sciences,"  speaks  of 
the   inhalation    of   sulphuric   ether   as    familiarly   employed   to 


13 

mitigate  the  pains  of  colic  and  figures  an  apparatus  for  its 
administration.  In  1795  Dr.  Richard  Pearson  pubhshed  a 
pamphlet  upon  this  subject,  and  in  a  work  of  Dr.  Beddoes, 
published  in  1796,  a  case  is  noted  of  deep  sleep  produced  by 
the  inhalation  of  ether.  Among  American  authors  the  stupe- 
fying effects  of  the  inhalation  of  ether  were  noted  by  Godman 
(1822),  Mitchell  (1832),  Professor  Samuel  Jackson  (1833),  Wood 
and  Bache  (1834),  etc.  In  "  Pereira's  Elements  of  Materia 
Medica,"  Morton's  text-book  at  the  Harvard  Medical  School 
stood  recorded,  "  If  the  air  be  too  strongly  impregnated  with 
ether,  stupefaction  ensues." 

Most  remarkable  is  the  statement  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy 
in  his  Researches  on  Nitrous  Oxide  made  in  1800.  After  re- 
ferring to  the  exhilarating  properties  of  nitrous  oxide  gas 
which  caused  it  to  be  popularly  termed  "  laughing  gas  "  and 
after  recording  observation  concerning  people  whoffi  he  had 
seen  made  temporarily  insensible  by  inhaling  it,  he  writes,  p.  32, 
''As  nitrous  oxide  in  its  extensive  operations  appears  capable  of 
destroying  physical  pain,  it  may  probably  be  used  with  advantage 
during  surgical  operations  in  which  no  great  efftision  of  blood 
takes  place." 

Observations  such  as  those  thus  far  quoted  went  on  apace 
and  it  was  not  long  before  "  laughing  gas  frolics  "  and  "  ether 
frolics  "  became  fairly  well  established.  For  Faraday  already 
in  1818  had  written,  "  When  the  vapor  of  ether  mixed  with  com- 
mon air  is  inhaled,  it  produced  effects  similar  to  those  occa- 
sioned by  nitrous  oxide." 

Among  actual  operators  who  produced  anesthesia  for  sur- 
gical operations  was  Dauriol,  who  specifies  five  cases  of  painless 
operations  under  the  effects  of  anodyne  vapors,  and  more  re- 
markable, Hickman,  a  surgeon  of  London,  who  in  1828,  in  a  letter 
to  the  French  Academy  of  Medicine,  published  his  results  and 
described  a  method  of  "  suspending  sensibility  by  the  methodical 
introduction  of  certain  gases  into  the  lungs,"  during  which  "  the 
most  delicate  and  most  dangerous  operations  are  performed  without 
producing  pain  in  the  individuals  submitted  to  them."  Here  we 
have  a  precise  statement  of  modem  anesthesia  as  practiced 
daily.  But  what  the  gases  were  we  do  not  know.  Take  Davy's 
statement  and  this  statement  together  and  it  is  evident  that 
it  was  necessary  for  Morton  to  take  but  a  very  small  step  for- 


14 

ward  to  succeed  and  equally  evident  that  nothing  done  by 
Jackson,  Wells  or  Long,  as  subsequently  claimed  by  them, 
necessarily  furnished  for  Morton  the  stepping  stone. 

In  1839,  on  the  occasion  of  an  ether  frolic  given  in  Athens, 
Ga.,  a  young  man  by  the  name  of  Wilhite,  who  happened  to 
be  present,  compelled  a  negro  boy  to  inhale  ether  and  forced 
it  upon  him  until  complete  insensibility  took  place.  Later  on, 
in  1842,  Wilhite  became  a  student  of  Dr.  Crawford  W.  Long, 
also  of  Georgia,  and  told  him  of  his  experience.  Dr.  Long, 
familiar  with  these  ether  frolics,  allowed  a  patient,  Venable,  to 
inhale  the  ether  and  removed  a  small  encysted  tumor  about 
one-half  an  inch  in  diameter  from  his  scalp.  He  tried  the  same 
experiment  in  a  few  more  minor  operations  (three  times  in  1842, 
once  in  1843,  and  once  in  1845). 

In  these  operations  Long  did  not  administer  the  ether,  but 
the  patient  administered  it  to  himself.  The  effect  of  the  ether 
was  not  carried  beyond  the  exhilarating  stage,  and  he  aban- 
doned its  use.  He  made  no  publication  of  these  experiments 
or  of  their  results  until  December,  1849.  Under  this  date, 
writing  to  the  Southern  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal,  he  says: 

The  result  of  my  second  experiment  in  etherization  was  such  as  led 
me  to  believe  that  the  anesthetic  state  was  of  such  short  duration  that 
ether  would  only  be  applicable  in  cases  in  which  its  effects  could  be 
kept  up  by  constant  inhalation  during  the  time  of  the  performance  of 
the  operation.  Under  this  impression,  up  to  January,  1847,  I  had  not 
used  ether  in  but  one  case  in  extracting  teeth,  and  thvis  deprived  myself 
of  experimenting  in  the  only  class  of  cases  which  are  of  frequent  occur- 
rence in  a  country  practice.  Elsewhere  in  his  article  Dr.  Long  remarks, 
"  Others  more  favorably  situpied  engaged  in  similar  expeiiments  and 
consequently  the  publication  .if  etherization  did  not  bide  my  time." 

Long  did  not  carry  his  experiments  far  enough  to  reach  a 
decided  result. 

Much  similar  to  Dr.  Long's  experience  was  that  of  Horace 
Wells  of  Hartford,  Conn.  Two  years  after  Long,  in  December, 
1844,  Colton  was  giving  "  laughing  gas  frolics  "  in  popular  ex- 
hibitions in  Hartford,  Conn.  One  of  the  audience.  Col.  Samuel 
A.  Cooley,  took  the  gas.  Upon  recovering  from  its  effects  and 
finding  his  legs  had  been  injured  without  his  being  conscious 
of  it,  he  made  the  observation  that  "  he  believed  a  person  could 
undergo  a  severe  surgical  operation  without  feeling  any  pain 
at  the  time."     This  deduction  Wells  (who  was  also  present  as 


a  spectator)  accepted  from  Cooley,  and  Cooley  and  Wells,  to- 
gether with  Colton  and  Riggs,  proceeded  to  make  application  of 
it,  by  operating  upon  Wells.  Wells  was  the  patient,  Colton 
administered  the  gas,  and  Riggs  pulled  a  defective  wisdom  tooth. 
Wells  experienced  no  pain  and  was  profoundly  impressed  with 
the  success  of  the  operation.  We  quote  the  only  essential 
part  of  his  first  published  statement,  made  to  the  Hartford 
Courant,  Dec.  7,  1846,  about  two  months  after  the  Boston  an- 
nouncement by  Morton: 

I  accordingly  resolved  to  try  the  experiment  of  inhaling  an  exhil- 
arating gas  myself,  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  tooth  extracted.  I  then 
obtained  some  nitrous  oxide  gas,  and  requested  Dr.  J.  M.  Riggs  to  per- 
form the  operation,  at  the  moment  when  I  should  give  the  signal,  resolving 
to  have  the  tooth  extracted  before  losing  all  consciousness.  This  ex- 
periment proved  to  be  perfectly  successful ;  it  was  attended  with  no 
pain  whatever.  I  then  performed  the  same  operation  on  12  or  15  others 
with  the  same  results. 

No  one  to-day  would  regard  this  degree  of  consciousness  as 

compatible  with  true  anesthesia. 

Cooley  subsequently  manufactured  the  gas,  and  he  and  Wells 
entered  into  a  partnership  to  administer  gas  and  pull  teeth. 

"  Our  plan  was,"  says  Cooley,  testifying  in  1852,*  when  the  subject 
came  up  before  Congress,  "  to  keep  the  whole  matter  a  secret  and  under 
our  sole  control,  which  would  insure  us  a  large  and  lucrative  business." 

But  Wells  now  abandoned  the  matter.  Cooley,  in  his  tes- 
timony, continues: 

"  He  (Wells)  said  he  was  disappointed  in  the  effects  of  the  gas 
and  that  it  would  not  operate  as  he  hoped  and  thought  it  would ,  as  there 
was  no  certainty  to  be  placed  upon  it,  and  consequently  he  should  aban- 
don it,  as  he  had  so  much  other  business  to  attend  to,  and  as  the  gas 
would  not  operate  in  all  cases  alike,  and,  therefore,  could  not  be  trusted." 

This  abandonment  and  failure  is  proven  by  many  witnesses. 
Probably  the  most  interesting  of  these  is  Wells  himself,  who  as 
above  quoted,  has  merely  claimed  that  in  a  period  of  time  com- 
prising two  years  (Dec.  1844  to  Dec.  1846)  he  had  "  performed 
the  same  operation  on  12  or  15  others,"  although  he  was  in 
the  active  practice. of  dentistiy. 

After  a  fourth  experience  in  extracting  teeth  in  Hartford, 
in  January,  1845,  Wells  visited  Boston  and  secured  pennission 

1.  Statements  supported  by  evidence,  submitted  to  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee, 32d  Congress,  2d  session,  Jan.  21.  1853.     Appendix,  p.  7. 


16 

from  Dr.  John  C.  Warren  to  try  the  gas  before  the  class.  The 
operation  was  the  extraction  of  a  tooth.  The  experiment  failed, 
the  patient  screamed  with  pain,  and  Wells  returned  home. 
Referring  to  this  experience  at  Boston,  Dr.  P.  W.  Ellsworth 
of  Hartford  wrote,  "  The  first  experiment  failing,  he  ceased 
making  any  further  personal  efforts."  And  again,  G.  Howell 
Olmstead,  Jr.,  of  Hartford,  says  in  his  sworn  testimony: 

Having  been  associated  in  business  with  Dr.  Wells  and  being  very 
intimate,  we  had  a  great  many  conversations  about  the  gas  *  *  *  and  I 
considered  he  had  abandon,ed  the  thing  entirely,  as  he  expressed  himself 
to  me  that  the  operation  in  some  cases  proved  a  perfect  failure. 

George  Brinley,  of  Hartford,  testified  that  Wells  said  to  him 
that  "  he  was  stupid  that  he  had  not  pursued  the  discovery."* 

Thus  Wells  also,  like  Long,  did  not  carry  his  experiments 
far  enough  to  reach  a  decided  result. 

There  remain  no  further  anesthetic  events  prior  to  1846  to 
record. 

"  But  yet — and  yet,"  to  quote  the  eloquent  words  of  the  distinguished 
surgeon,  John  Ashhurst,  Jr.,  of  Philadelphia,  "  surgeons  went  on  in 
every  country,  cutting  and  burning,  and  patients  went  on  writhing  and 
screaming,  until  on  the  16th  day  of  October,  in  the  year  1846,  in  the 
Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  Dr.  John  C.  Warren  painlessly  removed 
a  tuinor  from  a  man  who  had  previously  been  etherized  by  Dr.  William 
T.  G.  Morton,  and  surgical  anesthesia  became  the  priceless  heritage  of 
the  civilized  world." 

III. 

"  The  invention  all  admired,  and  each  how  he 
To  be  the  tnventor  missed,  so  easy  it  seemed, 
Once  found,  which  yet  unfound  most  would  have  thought 
Impossible^  — Milton. 

Thus  far,  Morton  stands  alone,  as  the  innovator  and  inventor 
of  practical  ether  anesthesia.  Expressed  in  these  terms  no  one 
disputes  the  fact.  Up  to  the  moment  of  the  public  demonstra- 
tion of  Oct.  16,  1846,  the  world  was  barren  of  relief  from  the 
l)ain  of  surgery.     No  such  practice  existed. 

And  barren  as  was  the  world  of  relief  from  pain,  it  was  equally 
barren  of  any  published  statement  that  such  relief  could  actually 
be  obtained.  Of  those  who  were  soon  to  ap])car  upon  the  scene 
as  claimants,  not  one  could  produce  a  written  or  printed  word^ — 

1.  All  of  the  testimony  al)ovc  jjroduccd  is  taken  from  "  Statemcnlii 
Supported  by  Evidence,"  32d  Congress,  2<l  session,  Jan.  21,  1853. 


17 

nor  could  point  to  a  publication  'n  medical  journal  or  public 
press,  to  show  that  he  had  tried  to  do  a  similar  thing. 

"  To  know  a  thing  and  not  to  express  it, 
Is  all  one  as  if  he  knezv  it  not." 

—  Burton's  Anatomy  of  Melancholy. 

Decisive  as  would  seem  to  1>e  the  events  thvis  far  narrated, 
they  did  not  free  the  invention  nor  the  inventor  from  what  the 
London  Lancet  at  the  time  humorously  referred  to  as  "  the 
large  class  of  jump-up-behinders." 

The  first  after-claimant  was  Dr.-  C.  T.  Jackson  of  Boston. 
He  claimed  -to  have  said,  "  Try  ether."  The  knowledge  con- 
veyed in  this  suggestion  was,  as  we  have  seen,  common  to  text- 
books. Morton  proved  that  he  had  been  "  trying  ether  "  many 
months  before  the  date  set  for  this  conversation.  Next,  Jack- 
son claimed  that  Morton  had  worked  under  his  directions.  If 
so,  no  one  of  the  participators  in  the  early  decisive  test  opera- 
tions, pubUc  or  private,  knew  of  it,  nor  had  anyone  seen  him 
or  heard  that  he  was  interested  in  the  matter.  He  had  never, 
even  witnessed  an  operation,  and  did  not  visit  the  Massachusetts 
General  Hospital  until  more  than  two  months  subsequent  to  the 
date  of  the  public  demonstration  by  Morton.  In  this  interval 
of  time  he  frequently  denounced  the  discovery  roundly  as  a  dan- 
gerous practice.  About  this  time,  the  late  Professor  Louis 
Agassiz  said  on  one  occasion  to  Dr.  Jackson,  "  If  Dr.  Morton  had 
killed  his  first  patient,  would  you  (Jackson)  have  accepted  the 
blame  just  as  now  you  ask  for  the  honor?  "  Dr.  Jackson  re- 
mained silent. 

The  enrollment  of  Morton's  name  in  the  Massachusetts  "  Hall 
of  Fame,"  in  the  rotunda  of  the  State  House,  has  expressed 
Massachusetts'  final  verdict. 

Chronologically,  the  next  after  claimant,  subsequent  in  time 
about  two  months  after  the  Boston  announcement  of  1846, 
was  Horace  Wells,  whose  "  12  to  15  "  experiments  and  final 
abandonment  have  been  alluded  to.  The  inhalation  of  nitrous 
oxide,  in  his  hands  and  time,  was  not  pushed  to  the  point  of 
the  present  fainiliar  anesthetic  stupor,  but  only  to  the  point 
of  a  partial  intoxication  where  a  partial  numbness  was  obtained. 

Wells,  in  1847,  stimulated  by  the  success  of  ether  anes- 
thesia, went  to  New  York  to  try  to  demonstrate  nitrous  oxide 
anesthesia.     Here   also  again,   as   in   Boston,    the   effort   failed. 


18 

The  following  letter  of  Dr.  Wm.  H.  Van  Buren,  one  of  New 
York's  distinguished  surgeons,  is  interesting  in  this  connection' 

New  York,  Oct.  1,  185S. 

I  recollect  distinctly  having  been  present  in  the  operating  theatre  of 
the  New  York  Hospital,  in  1847,  to  witness  an  operation  by  the  late  Dr 
John  Kearny  Rodgers.  Dr.  Horace  Wells  was  present,  and  administered 
nitrous  oxide  gas  to  the  patient,  with  the  object  of  producing  insen- 
sibility to  the  pain  of  the  operation,  bvit  the  attempt  was  unsuccessful, 
as  the  patient  seemed  to  suffer  about  as  much  pain  as  might  have  been 
anticipated  under  ordinary  circumstances.  A  large  number  of  surgeons 
and  physicians  were  present  among  whom  was  Dr.  Valentine  Mott,  and 
other  prominent  members  of  the  profession. 

As  the  supply  of  the  supposed  anesthetic  agent  was  apparently  ample, 
judging  from  the  large  size  of  the  bags  containing  it,  and  its  administra- 
tion conducted  fairly  and  fully,  the  general  impression  upon  the  spec- 
tators seemed  to  me,  to  be  decidedly  unfavorable  as  to  its  power  of  pro- 
ducing insensibility  to  pain. 

Wm.  H.  Van  Burrn,  M.D. 

Not  until  nearly  17  years  later  on,  in  1862,*  did  laughing  gas 
become  an  acknowledged  anesthetic,  when  Drs.  Dunham,  of 
New  Britain,  and  Smith,  of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  took  the  matter 
up  with  Col  ton.  It  then  became  clear  why  Wells  and  others 
had  failed;  operators  had  been  using,  as  did  Wells,  the  small 
gas  bag,  and  the  exhilarating  dose  of  Sir  Humphrey  Davy;  the 
amount  of  gas  had  been  too  small;  they  had  feared  to  produce 
complete  stupor,  and  had  believed  that  pain  was  annulled 
during  the  excitement  stage  which  they  dared  not  exceed. 

It  was  a  narrow  margin  from  a  possible  discovery,  but  many  a 
discovery  has  been  lost  by  a  narrower  one. 

It  was  only  in  1804'  that  Colton  established  the  Colton  Dental 
Association  in  New  York,  and  in  1868  tliat  the  Dental  Hospital  of 
London  adopted  the  use  of  nitrous  oxide.  This  use  is  still  con- 
fined to  brief  operations  like  the  extraction  of  teeth. 

As  we  have  seen,  the  idea  of  using  laughing  gas  was  not  new 
with  Wells;  this  idea  originated  with  Davy.  Nor  was  the  idea 
new  of  performing  a  surgical  operation  under  the  influence  of 
inhaled  gases.  This  too  had  been  suggested  by  Davy  and  prac- 
ticed by  Hickman  in  1828,  by  Dr.  Crawford  W.  Long  of 
Georgia  in  1842,  and  by  others: 

To  Wells  belongs  the  credit  of  a  conviction,  which  many  had 

1.  See  Trans.  Am.  Surgical  Association,  1897,  Surgical  Anesthesia,  by 
John  Collins  Warren,  M.D. 

2.  Ibid. 


19 

shared  with  him,  that  surgical  anesthesia  was  possible,  but  it 
was  his  misfortune  not  to  be  able  to  succeed  and  convince 
others  of  his  success.     His  method  was  faulty. 

Third  in  line  of  after-claimants  was  Dr.  Long  of  Georgia. 
Three  years  after  1846,  he  made  a  modest  statement  of  his  ex- 
periences already  referred  to  and  worthy  of  all  praise.  But 
in  1877  Dr.  J.  Marion  Sims  brovight  Dr.  Long  prominently  for- 
ward as  the  true  "  discoverer  of  anesthesia."  Dr.  Long  himself 
made  no  such  claim.  As  in  the  case  of  Wells  his  own  words 
speak  for  themselves. 

He  wrote,  as  already  quoted,  "  the  publication  of  anesthesia 
did  not  bide  my  time." 

Erase  from  the  history  of  anesthesia,  Jackson's  suggestion 
(common  to  text-books)  and  Long's  and  Wells'  attempt,  (both 
of  them  failures,  unpublished  and  unacted  upon  by  the  pro- 
fession of  medicine),  and  we  should  not  take  a  step  backward 
in  anesthesia.  It  does  not  appear  that  Morton  could  have 
learned  from  Wells  or  Long  anything  but  the  lesson  of  failure. 

IV. 

Dr.  Morton's  Personality. — Annotmcing  his  discovery  at  the 
age  of  27  and  dying  at  the  -comparatively  early  age  of  48,  Dr. 
Morton's  21  years  of  adult  and  active  life  were  entirely  con- 
sumed with  the  turmoil  and  pain  of  controversy.  The  eminent 
surgeon.  Dr.  Henry  J.  Bigelow,  writes  of  him:* 

Morton  had  a  combination  of  qualities  stich  as  few  other  men  in  the 
community  possessed.  Fertile  in  expedients  and  singularly  prompt  in 
execution,  he  was  earnest  and  persevering  beyond  conception.  His 
determined  persistence  is  remembered  at  this  even  interval  of  time,  as 
having  been  a  terror  to  his  best  friends.  Nobody  denies  that  Morton, 
recklessly  and  alone,  faced  the  then  supposed  danger  attending  ether 
stupor.  If  all  accredited  scientific  opinion  had  not  been  at  fault,  and 
in  the  case  of  any  fatal  result,  he  would  have  infallibly  been  convicted 
of  manslaughter,  with  little  probability  that  anybody  would  have  come 
forward  to  say,  "  The  responsibility  is  not  his,  but  mine." 

Again  that  distinguished  citizen  and  philanthropist  of  Bos- 
ton, Mr.  John  J.  May,  in  a  letter  written  in  1895  to  Dr.  Hayden, 
alludes  to  another  phase  of  Dr.  Morton's  character: 

1.  Extract  from  "  A  History  of  the  Discovery  of  Modern  Anaesthesia," 
by  Henry  J.  Bigelow,  "  Century  of  American  Medicine,  1776-1876," 
Philadelphia,  1876 


20 

Boston,  April  18,  1S95. 
Dk.  W.  R.  Hayden,— 

My  dear  sir:  I  wish  that  you  had  known  William  Thomas  Green  Mor- 
ton. I  knew  him  well.  I  met  him  not  infrequently  in  those  years  when 
the  subject  of  anesthesia  engrossed  his  time  and  thoughts. 

I  like  to  bear  him  in  mind  as  he  was — a  refined  courteous  gentleman. 
Alwaj's  neat  in  personal  appearance,  affable  in  manner,  thoughtful  of 
others'  feelings  and  convenience,  generous  and  warmly  appreciative  of 
any  kindness  and  sign  of  good  will  offered  to  him. 

'riiough  enterprising  and  ardent — even  sanguine — in  business  pur- 
suits (in  wliich  he  was  remarkably  methodical),  and  although  often 
grieved  and  indignant  at  the  gratuitous  injuries  and  misrepresentations 
heaped  upon  him  by  imprincipled  opponents,  I  do  not  remember  that 
I  ever  heard  from  his  lips  an  opprobrious  epithet,  or  saw  indications  of 
an  effort  to  retaliate  upon  his  eneinies. 

Respectfully  yours, 

John  J.  May. 

In  personal  appearance  Dr.  Morton  was  tall,  handsome  and 
of  engaging  manners.  Friends  and  ardent  supporters  fell  to 
his  lot  as  to  few,  in  the  trying  circumstances  of  a  long  sustained 
controversy.  His  character,  as  indicated  by  the  above  quota- 
tions, was  a  singular  combination  of  Christian  fortitude  and 
charity  to  all,  and  of  intense  perseverance  and  activity.  His 
devoted  wife  was  cast  in  the  same  mold  of  forbearance  and 
forgiveness.  But  the  spell  of  anesthesia  had  been  cast  upon 
those  two  lives  as  upon  the  morituri  of  old — they  did  tlieir 
duty  to  the  end.  No  one  unfamiliar  with  the  story  of  the  at- 
tempts to  rob  him  of  his  just  merits  through  21  years  of  bitter 
attack,  including  10  years  of  vain  struggle  with  the  government 
for  even  a  most  modest  recompense,  can  realize  at  this  day  the 
weight  of  the  powers  of  adversity  which  beset  his  course.  Con- 
gress ignored  his  request  for  remuneration  in  spite  of  six  major- 
ity reports  of  committees  in  his  favor.  The  government, 
finally,  as  a  last  retreat,  taunted  him  into  bringing  a 
technical  suit  for  infringement  of  a  patent  (which  almost 
at  the  moment  of  its  issuance  he  had  freely  thrown  open  to 
the  world)  against  some  one  medical  officer,  of  the  govern- 
ment to  establish  ajegal  status,  and  thereupon  it  was  falsely 
represented  that  he  had  endeavored  by  suit  to  prevent 
the  government  from  using  anesthetics  in  the  army  and 
navy.  Having  spent  a  very  considerable  fortime  to  intro- 
duce his  discovery  and  defend  himself  from  attack,  he  was 
jeduced   to   poverty.      It   was  not   many  years   until  life  itself 


21 

was  quietly  crushed  out  beneath  the  load.  The  discovery  of 
surgical  anesthesia,  while  a  boon  to  the  world,  was  a  tragedy 
to  its  author,  and  to  his  family.  Science,  civilization,  had  given 
with  too  free  a  hand  and  required  a  compensating  sacrifice, 
whose  lot  was  his.  Though  his  misfortunes  have  been  the 
foundation  of  countless  fortunes  to  others,  his  sorrows  the 
source  of  inexpressible  happiness  to  millions;  though  his  life 
was  the  one  single  life  unblessed  by  what  was  to  others  blessing, 
he  never  complained,  but  pursued  his  way,  simply,  patiently  and 
honestly,  humbly  thankful  to  have  been  a  benefactor  to  his  race. 
Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell,  in  a  poem,  "  The  Birth  and  Death  of 
Pain,"  read  Oct.  16,  1896,  on  the  occasion  of  the  semi-centen- 
nial of  Anesthesia,  already  alluded  to,  writes, 

How  did  we  thank  him?     Ah!  no  joy -bells  rang, 

No  paeans  greeted  and  no  poet  sang, 

No  cannon  thundered  from  the  guarded  strand 

This  mighty  victory  to  a  gratefiil  land! 

We  took  the  gift,  so  humbly,  simply  given, 

And  coldly  selfish — left  our  debt  to  Heaven. 

How  shall  we  thank  him?     Hush!  a  gladder  hour 

Has  struck  for  him;  a  wiser,  juster  power 

Shall  know  full  well  how  fitly  to  reward 

The  generous  soul,  that  found  the  world  so  hard. 


WILLIAM  JAMES  MORTON,  M.D. 
19  East  28th  Street,  New  York. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 

This    bonk    is    due    on    the    date    indicated    below,    or    at    the 
expiration   of   a    definite    period    after   the  date  of  borrowing,   as 
provided    by    the    Ubrary    rules    or    by    special    arrangement    with 
the  Librarian  in  charge. 

DATE    BORROWED 

DATE    DUE 

DATE    BORROWED 

DATE    DUE 

C28(955)100MEE 

.PAMPHLET  BINDER 

■  Syrocuse,  N,   Y. 

-  Stocloton,  Calif. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


1010227555 


Morton 


Historical  Collection 

RD80.M8 
M84 
1905 
C.2 


Memoranda  relating  to  the  discover 
of  surgical  anesthesia. 


^^fi  4     fdSB 


-^^»  y.  Binasiiy 


BOUND 


